When it all Changed
Princess Twilight Sparkle lay in bed awake with the sheets pulled tightly around her. Every light in her room was turned on and she had cast several light spells to supplement them.
It was supposed to have been raining, but at her royal command, she had the very thought of that weather delayed indefinitely. The night and the castle were terrifying enough without the additional ambience.
A horrible moan wailed through the halls outside Twilight’s bedroom. One that only she could hear despite its regular occurrence the past week since Dash had died.
The lights flickered and warped continuously to cast terrifying shadows upon the walls. Even her magical ones.
And always there was that wailing. That horrible, horrible wailing.
All four legs quivering, Twilight hid herself under her covers and, at the same time, berated herself for doing so. Eighty-six years old and still scared of ghosts. If word ever got out, the press would never let it go.
“…light…”
Twilight just barely made out the semblance of a word and went rigid. It was finally confirmed. The ghost was coming for her.
“…Twilight…”
It was closer now, as if it were coming from within her very room.
Twilight built up what little courage she had and pulled back her covers just enough to peek out and reacted instantly.
She teleported in a Faraday cage she had conjured earlier in the day, held it aloft exactly where she thought the ghost was, and prepared for the worst with a teleport spell ready to be triggered to get her anywhere else but here.
The lights stopped flickering. At least they did outside the metal construct. Inside, the light was as chaotic as ever. However, without the constant strobe effect in the entire room, Twilight’s eyes were finally able to adjust and she gasped as she saw what was inside.
“Rainbow Dash! Why? How? W-What do you want?”
The ghost of Dash sighed. Twilight was struck dumb by the sudden change in mood, though the lighting did not change..
“Hey, Twi. This was such a good prank, and you just had to go and ruin it like that. I mean, I literally had to die to do this.”
“W-What? Did you–”
“I didn’t commit suicide, Twi. It was just old age. Some of us aren’t immortal princesses after all. How are the others doing?”
“…Just fine…” Twilight managed. She also managed to slightly loosen her magic’s grip on her blankets and let her unfinished teleport dissipate.
“Makes sense. I mean, it’s only been a week. Right? I didn’t suffer some sort of time distortion from being dead, did I?”
“Noooo,” Twilight said, unsure if she should be uncomfortable or terrified anymore. “It’s only been a week.”
“So what is this thing you’ve got around me anyways?”
“It’s… It’s a Faraday cage. With all the lights flickering, I knew the gh– I mean, I knew you were interfering with electromag–”
“Spare me the science stuff, Twi. It’s not any more interesting now than it was last week.”
“Fine,” Twilight pouted. “It’s a metal sphere that keeps you from flickering all the lights under the same principle as a microwave. I’m a bit surprised it worked so well.”
“There. Was that so hard?”
“Well, I am talking to a ghost.”
“Details.”
“So” – Twilight tried to find some more sensitive words but came up empty – “why are you a ghost? And how did it happen?”
Dash shrugged and said, “Dunno. I just woke up like this. If fiction and movies are anything to go by, it’s cause I had something I always wanted to tell you but never did. You see–”
“Whoa, Dash! Stop! Desist!”
“What? Why?” Dash asked, cocking her head to the side.
“If you think you’re here because you never told me something, I shouldn’t have to tell you not to tell me that! You’ll really die then, and…I don’t think I could take that again.”
“Oh. Right. That kind of sucks though. I mean I really want to tell you. I’ve got this urge.”
“Well don’t. You’re not an alicorn, but you might be able to stay with me forever like this.”
Blinking twice and looking away, Dash whispered, “Yeah, I’d like that.”
“In fact,” Twilight said, not having been paying attention, “I could save everypony that can develop a regret! Just think about it, Dash! Nopony would ever have to say goodbye again and presumably you don’t need to eat or breathe so it’s not even a strain on our resources! Can you still use your magic?”
“Um… No, not that I can tell.”
“Hmm… Maybe you have some sort of ghost magic to learn instead. You’re floating though, so you can still fly at least.”
“I did float straight through your door. And I can’t seem to stop making the lights go all wonky.”
Twilight let out a little squeal of excitement. “Oh, this is going to be so much fun! A whole new branch of magic to figure out! And a whole new type of life too!”
“Yeah, that’s nice and all, but do you think you could find a way to make me solid again? It’s pretty boring just floating around slowly and listening to ponies and stuff.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. You’re projecting an image of yourself, so I should be able to come up with a solution that binds a ferrous metal to your image with magic. It should be easy. Just a reapplication of–”
“Twi! Science stuff! Stop!”
Grumbling and burning in her indignity, Twilight said, “Fine. But you have to be my experimental subject. Otherwise I’m not going to get anywhere with this stuff.”
“Yeah, sure, whatever,” sighed Dash.
“Oh! Do you ever get tired?”
“Not really. I don’t seem to mix well with bright lights though. If you had made this room any brighter, I might not have been able to come inside.”
“Interesting… I don’t think that will be a problem after we get you a solid form, but it’s certainly something deserving further study. Anyway, if you don’t need to sleep then let’s get started on an all-nighter. Meet me down in the lab and I’ll go bother the kitchen staff for some coffee.”
“And that concludes my presentation on preserving life after death,” Twilight finished.
“Finally!” Applejack shouted. “I ain’t no Rainbow Dash, but that was darn near ready to kill me twice over.”
“Hey!” Dash shouted and turned to Applejack. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Before Applejack could respond, Twilight said, “Hey, have you two ever heard the phrase ‘silent as the dead?’ Keep it down.” Turning back to her audience, Twilight asked, “Questions?”
The audience was still dumbfounded as they had been since the presentation began. In addition to a variety of leading scientific and medical experts, also present was Celestia, Luna, Cadance, a very aged Fluttershy, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and a select few other friends from Ponyville and around Equestria.
Cadance slowly raised her hoof.
Twilight, having already braced herself for Cadance, said, “No, I cannot bring Shining back. He is…gone.” Seeing Cadance on the verge of tears, Twilight added, “So far as I know. I have not exactly ruled the possibility out, given that I have confirmed some sort of life after death, but I can’t make any promises.”
Nodding weakly, Cadance leaned into Celestia for comfort.
Another hoof raised in the back.
“Yes, Doctor Charts?”
“Is this really…natural?”
Rolling her eyes, Twilight answered, “This is hardly the place to discuss philosophy, doctor. However, I would point out three things to you.
“First of all, I am personally very happy with the situation. As are Applejack and Rainbow Dash. I am afraid that…Rarity and Pinkie Pie did not make it…but they did try.”
Clearing her throat and blinking away a tear, Twilight continued, “Second, this is a natural process. As far as we know. I do not discount some grand magic laid upon the world in the days of yore or other such mechanism, but I have no evidence for it. These two died natural deaths and naturally became ghosts.
“I have only augmented their ghostly form with a physical one. It does not let them feel, taste, touch, or use any of the non-classical senses, but they can see and hear. I believe both are the result of ghost magic since they do not naturally seem to be able to interact with the world in the ‘classically tangible’ sense.
“Third, if you think synthetic things are lesser than natural things or should be shunned, I suggest you stop using your chair.”
A nervous laughter echoed around the room. Still, any kind of laughter was better than the snickering from before the presentation at a princess taking ghosts seriously.
Twilight was tempted to say, “Who’s laughing now?” but instead opted for, “Any further questions?”
“Um…Twi?”
Turning around, Twilight asked, “Yes, Dash?”
“Could we say a few words?”
“…I guess so.”
Dash and Applejack stepped forward and Twilight made room for them center stage.
Dash nodded to Applejack who then said, “Right, so there’s one warning we reckon y’all might wanna know before you leave here. Twilight here mentioned that the only way to go about ghostifying yourself that we know of is to find yourself something or somepony to pine over real hard. There’s two ways to go about that.
“First, you can find something to regret that you’ll never be able to get over. I’ve got one of those kinda regrets. My Granny Smith was long gone before I shed the mortal coil and I should think I’m not gonna be seeing her again. Doubt she’d wanna come back even if we found a way to pull her from the æther.”
“Or,” Dash said, taking up the conversation, “you can have a regret like mine. Something I could resolve in a snap at any time. Twi’s really thick–”
“Hey!”
“–and also very good at playing dumb, so as long as I don’t blab to her face, I’ll probably be fine. But it’s still nerve-racking to be on the edge of real death all the time. So if you want to stick around forever, pick something hard to resolve.”
Taking the conversation back, Applejack finished, “And if you want to have the option to pass on permanently, pick something easy.”
“But either way, why don’t you guys go out there and start regretting your lives?”
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight shouted, stomping her hoof.
The mare in question floated out a window as quickly as she could, shouting, “I have only one regret!”
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...Well, that was a strange little story. :D
That was weird.
But rather nicely bitter-sweet. Especially the implication that Shining, Rarity and Pinkie apparently lived full enough lives they simply couldn't linger.
Well....it was....odd
So yeah... that was... something else as the other readers have said...
And, being a ghost doesn't sound like anyway to live...
Oh god it's thundering now!!!
Signed,
--Pyro The Spooked Reader
After reading the description, I was really curious to just see why this wasn't tagged as sad. It was quite the interesting and enjoyable story.
Heh, that was pretty amusing. Not at all what I was expecting...
Huuum, this also sounds very Twilight-ish.
I was expecting a Romance tag due to the ending, since it seemed like hints were pointing at TwiDash.
4624285
Nah. Totally one sided and is Dash's regret. It'll never happen unless they find another way to tether her ghost form. It is serves as an easily understood regret to move the plot along, but does not serve any further purpose.
This should be a series.
You know, I was trying to find some deeper meaning in this story, like some grand social criticism about regret or something, but I can't. This story was too ridiculous in all the right ways. Loved it.
Love it, Its pretty funny!
What if you regret not having any regrets?
Will you be stuck as a ghost until you find a regret?
And if you find that regret, will you be stuck as a ghost until you solve that regret?
And if you solve that regret, will you regret solving it? Does a regret found as a ghost even count as a life regret? If it doesn't count, are you doomed to be a ghost for eternity if you regret your lack of regrets?
4624966
I've seen some stories where ghosts do stick around for meta reasons. So long as you were regretting your real death hard enough, I don't see how the ghost story community could complain. Although, perhaps you insta-die as soon as you realize you're a ghost.
You could write another story(s) in response to answer these questions. Some of them would make very interesting character pieces.
Another brilliant story written by genius writer. Liked it very much.
will be able to keep quiet for too long...
But I don't think
Forty-tooth like! Woohoo!
Still no dislikes.
Okay, that was terrible.
I like this one. It gives me an idea myself, although I'm not sure I'll ever get around to writing it.
4626596
Why are you so bitter and ugly inside
Can I give you a hug
This story made me smile. I cannot place my finger on why, but it did.
I mean, most comedies make me laugh and chuckle and grin, but this story, oh, this story...
This story placed a good, honest smile on my face. A great one.
It's ironic, Twilight spent all those years saying how ghosts didn't exist.
You’ll really die then, and
"I DID REALLY DIE YOU MORON! You know what it's LIKE being a ghost? No hot, no cold, no feeling ANYTHING. And I have family I hope waiting for me in the great beyond and not just a big nothing!"
“In fact,” Twilight said, not having been paying attention, “I could save everypony that can develop a regret!
Twilight's in that mood again.
And a whole new type of life too!”
"I'm NOT life egg-head! And in case you didn't notice I look like I did when we first met!"
“No, I cannot bring Shining back. He is…gone.”
He had no reason to stay Cadence, just let him enjoy his eternal reward.
There was actually a webcomic of a woman who was brought back from the dead, she was horrified and dismayed and ended up ultimately committing suicide, BECAUSE SHE WAS DRAGGED FROM HEAVEN BACK INTO HER BODY.
Rarity and Pinkie Pie did not make it…but they did try.”
Makes sense Pinkie PIe went out with no regrets.
I guess Rarity had nothing left to teach Sweetie Belle.
I shed the mortal coil and I should think I’m not gonna be seeing her again
As long as you continue to cling to a world you no longer belong in.
This reminds me of Davey Jones offering people about to enter the afterlife and face judgement a 100 years on his ship, cheating their judgement for one century.
4623800
And that they are going to be waiting for their friends to join them in eternity, but they refuse to cross the door.
Twilight, "DERPY! But . . you died decades ago . . how . . .how are you-"
Derpy, "Oh I haven't been a ghost all this time, I just came to deliver a letter to you. Even the Veil can't stop this mail pony from her appointed rounds. Here ya go Twilight, careful, it'll burst into light after you finish reading it, or delay in reading it, or refuse or delay in finish reading it."
"Derpy! Wait! Don't you want to be with Dinky? I can make a body for you and-"
"And we will be together, after she's lived a full life. See ya."
" . . . She's gone . . . 'Dear Twilight darling, I know you will have to wait much much longer to be with us than you'll like, and that is simply not fair. But as your friend I have been asked to be the one to impart this to you. You are trying to hold back the hands of time. You are keeping Rainbow Dash and Applejack from continuing their journey. The world of the living is for the living. You have no idea how much pain you are putting on Rainbow Dash, forcing her not to . . . well, that is not my place to say, it is hers, and you are keeping her from doing the one thing she wants to do more than anything. You are the Alicorn of Friendship and Magic Twilight dear, you are not the Alicorn of life and death, please do not try to be so. If Rainbow Dash wishes to be free of her regrets, then you have no right to keep her prisoner in YOUR world, and not letting her enter hers. Remember when you went to the world of humans dear? When Princess Celestia said more than just you going would unbalance the world, and Spike coming along was a mishap? Twilight, by keeping ghosts from being free of their regret . . . you are damaging the balance between the world you reside in, and the world I now rest in.
Let me ask you Twilight, do you think heaven will be complete for me if Sweetie Belle doesn't come once her life is complete? Do you think Sweetie Belle's heaven will be complete if Scootaloo and Applebloom don't join her? Do you their heaven will be complete if Applejack and Rainbow Dash aren't there with them?
I have been instructed to inform you darling, that it's ironic that the princess of friendship . . .doesn't understand the need to letting go, or accepting loss.
Twilight, you are forcing ponies to stay at your house when they have family waiting for them back home. Let them come home.
P. S. Granny Smith wishes to tell Applejack . . . Bloomberg's ancestors are all here (I don't understand it either darling), and are in ripe need of Apple bucking.
4630166
Ehem. Since you seem to be taking a rather...religious...view of this story, I might point out that you are assuming a Judeo-Christian like system rather than, say, Hindu reincarnation, or a Hellenistic Hades (the place, not the god), or really anything else. I might point out that in the vast majority of religions, the afterlife is not exactly something to look forward to from the point of view of a single instance of a person (given that reincarnation is a complete reset, Hades is kind of boring, etc; although, I hear Valhalla is pretty happening). If you were to point to Tartarus (which is a real, physical place in the MLP universe) as a Christian hell analog, no good. Most religions have their own version of a fiery punishment fantasy, and some even call it Tartarus. Given that Cerberus and Tartarus exist, I would suggest using Hellenism (or something similar involving alicorns) for the predominate religion of Equestria, if there is any at all.
Also, the following in particular really rubs me the wrong way:
You tell me, Rarity. How many of your friends ended up in an eternal punishment of some kind for some arbitrary rule in a moral system that was not their own (or perhaps it was...)? Don't want to answer? Yeah, I thought so. Looks like your 'heaven', whatever form it has taken and which you apparently share with others who are very different than you and would have a much different idea of a perfect world, will never be complete.
*steps off soapbox*
Not that the shorts weren't decently written.
4630238
4630112
Counterpoint: What if there is no after-life in this setting? It might be their magic and minds clinging to the material world in a self-sustaining feedback-loop, using the regret as a fulcrum to do so, or something similar.
The existence of ghosts implies an after-life, yes, but that doesn't mean one actually exists.
In that case, isn't it criminally unjust to allow a person to be unmade in such a manner, just because their physical body has failed? Unless somebody learns for certain that a 'heaven' exists, why shouldn't you extend your existence for as long as possible?
You could even see it as a twisted version of Pascal's wager. If you somehow preserve your own existence and there is a heaven, you've lost nothing. Sure, your friends and family may miss you... but shouldn't that be exactly the type of people that should find solace in that you're living a full and long life?
But if all that awaits is oblivion? You still cease to exist, you 'just' get to live longer before doing so.
Sure, as you say there is a door... but for what we and the characters know there might be Nothing beyond that threshold. Given that, why chose the uncertain fate?
- Rainbow Dash 2014
HAh ha hAH... you are funny person. Good line.
4630274 You disappoint me. The best you can come up with is just flippantly dismissing the author's post by (wrongfully) calling it "hate"? That's not even being a smart-ass, it's just being childish. Do better.
4633859
To be fair, it was unnecessarily aggressive, even if the shorts were antagonistically Christian in a story about a rationalist response to ghosts. Not that it didn't point out a few of the many obvious flaws and contradictions.
4626596 Huh, I actually thought this would be right up your alley, what with introducing a kind of immortality.
But... Yeah, pretty bizarre. And still only the second most bizarre pony fic I read today.
This was such a funny story.
Would be better if not a one-shot -- there could be more here.
4623800
It hit Cadance that hard because it implies that Shining didn't regret leaving her enough to stay.
Really though, I see Shining as a "till death do us part" kinda guy. If he were say given the opportunity to reincarnate and Cadance to be able to find him each and every life, I do not think he would take it even though Cadance would probably beg him to do so.
4626596
You fail as a human being.
4630238
4630274
I read this fic just because of this list of comments between Alex, and his blatant dismissal of your comment. That being said, my own two sense. Short and sweet [which is rare for me].
With Physical Goddesses roaming the world and controlling tangible and intangible aspects of reality. Two of whom have access to things that give them omnipotence Luna with her dream walking powers that sees every memory from every perspective, even from when she was locked up in the moon. Tia with her stalker plane that lets her see every detail of a ponies life and play it up on screens at will.
Then you have Tartarus with Ceberus [something from the Greco-Roman religion]. Minotaurs, which were Greek in origin. Unicorns, Pegasi, and Gryphons which were used a lot in Greek / Roman mythology in the background. You have something more related to traditional greek mythology in terms of life and death than the Abrahamic faiths. And I agree with Forthwith, there are lots of religions that have firey underworlds [In truth the christian version of hell was a slow dissemination of pagan concepts, and Dante's Inferno. That's even taking into account that the book of Revelations was an Apocrypha or [hidden story] and it wasn't talking about end times as much as it was using code to talk about the corrupt state of Rome, and how it was going to fall from the decadence and evil they had about them. Not as what hell or the afterlife is going to be for sinners. If anything the original form of hell for Christians was more intune with the jewish Sheol.]
Although all in all we are never shown any underworld or overworld. But it'd make sense that their'd be an Alicorn there to reside over it. Although it's all speculation, but you really can't use Monotheistic religions / religious places to define that world when they have a Polytheistic society of immortal [practical immortality] deities that not only rule over the cosmos, but over their respective nations as well.
4624290
Loved this fic. And you sir/madame are made of win, you're comment discussion in the comment box made me want to read this, if only to understand just what the frak was going on. And the fic itself was nicely made, ten gold coins and a luna cookie. I also agree with 4624391 this should be a series.
ITT: Philosophy and mixed reviews.
4638412
Huh weird, my view of Shining is like the exact opposite. He'd come back from the dead if it'd make Cadance happy and I think he'd be content to spend the rest of the afterlife with Cadance (if she died)
4638412
I have a very hard time imagining the dude that managed to court what is basically the goddess of
finding solace in any other pair of hooves if Shining remembers even a hintof that life, personally, but I can see where you are coming from.
4640896
What DbzOrDie said, basically.
I liked this, it was a very interesting take on life after (physical) death and immortality. It was funny, in-character, appropriately bittersweet, and tinged with the hope of a better tomorrow. Admittedly it was a little weird, but in my mind that just makes it more interesting. Also unique to this story is that so far the comments section has largely been a delight to read.
I'm somewhat torn on the notion of a series. It ended well here, with Twilight and Rainbow Dash proving the potential for life after death and coming up with a practical way to use it to help others. On the other hand I really do want to see more, there are still so many unanswered questions; like how does Twilight solve the electromagnetic disturbance issue, what is ghost magic, how does one make a ghost solid, what will Equestria be like with the souls of the dead hanging around, and is there really an Equestrian afterlife?*
*Evidence says that unlike in the story 'Mortal' the answer to this question is a tentative yes, or at least that an afterlife of some kind is highly likely, but it's one thing to consciously know that something is likely to be true and a completely different thing to prove that something is true beyond a shadow of a doubt.*
my reacton to the description; SHE DIED!! NO SHE CANT DIE! ITS TOO DEPRESSING!! IM SAD NOW, OH GOD WHY RAINBOW?
yeah i over reacted
Here's another option for remaining alive after death:
Of course, then they'll end up killing anything and everything that enters their place of death, so . . .
Not sure what to make of this.
...Still, was decent, i thought.
~Skeeter The Lurker
4626596
Why not? If I may ask.
~Skeeter The Lurker
I don't like the idea this presents, mostly because I think our purpose in life is to live without regrets. After all, how long would one live their life and purposefully try to regret so much of it? Furthermore, how does one live with a regret strong enough to ensure that one becomes a ghost in the first place? What kind of regrets would allow one to stay tethered to the corporal plane? (aside from unrequited love)
So, basically, TwiDash.
well that was interesting and funny. Pinkie I can see having no regrets. Rarity I can see having a lot of regrets. Fluttershy I can see easy to have regrets, heck if she died without being able to feed her animals would be a huge regret to her.
lh5.googleusercontent.com/-eQZMmwkMqGo/Ur3S7RBSPBI/AAAAAAAA2pQ/qqDtO5mycu8/s288/Were-the-Millers-No-Ragrets-Tattoo-490x370.jpeg
4623800
What they should have done is just tell Pinkie they were going to throw her a really really really big party, but keep delaying it a week.
She'd have to stick around then.
My favorite line of this whole thing is 'Twilight's really thick'
s'nice.
Also, oh my god. Rainbow is a ghost because she's in love with Twilight, and never told her, and because of that she can stick around and be with Twilight forever, but if Twilight ever clues in, things resolve themselves, Rainbow tells her, or just in general the thing she wants most in death comes true, she'll never be able to experience what she wanted.
That
is probably the most horrifying, terrible, monstrous fate I could possible imagine.
I'm stealing it for my next D&D campaign
The only thing I find off about it is the fact that nothing seems to resolve. Call me old fashioned, but I feel that a story should have some conflict in it (hey that's about half the reason we read 'The Dresden Files', right?) However, here while it has the possibility of conflict, it just doesn't exploit it (couldn't think of a more appropriate word
). Goo d read otherwise. Solid 6.5 out of ten.
4718706
I think that the point of the story was that nothing is supposed to get resolved. Resolution would mean true death... or perhaps I'm giving too much credit... or not enough?
4732725 Probably, but something tells me after a while Rainbow Dash would get bored of being a ghost. Perhaps it's just me, but just constantly existing without doing the things that made existence both necessary and enjoyable would be just boring. Besides, who knows what consequences would arise from existing with no form.
Lastly, I think Dash would view 'true death' much the same way Peter Pan would. To quote it, "To die would be an awfully big adventure." 
4732725 Besides, can you imagine Rainbow Dash, the most active of ponies (when she isn't napping that is) not being able to do anything, including napping. She'd be driven crazy!
4733958
Y'know, I honestly think I see AJ as having the larger issue here. Sure, she can stick around, but other than the company of her friends, she can't really pursue her passion anymore as a ghost, which is kind of worse, because her regret isn't really solvable, unless she just gets over it I suppose. Not sure if that's how the whole ghost thing works though. RD on the other hand gets to be close to her regret, and otherwise has almost total freedom. She can still flaunt her moves, even easier than before since she doesn't have to fear obstacles, and all she needs to do is keep quiet about her regret, which she seems fairly proficient at given that her not fessing up is the whole reason for her whole ghost schtick.